


Back to the Beginning

by cicerhoe



Category: Ancient History RPF, Classical Greece and Rome History & Literature RPF
Genre: M/M, there was an attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-24 00:09:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10730151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cicerhoe/pseuds/cicerhoe
Summary: It is the end of the Catilinarian Conspiracy. The conspirators have been executed, Cicero is the savior of Rome, Catilina has no other choice but to fight or die. In the midst of it all, though, Cicero cannot help but wonder why everything went so wrong.





	Back to the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm trying to rectify the lack of Cicero/Catilina fic. I'm not sure how long this is going to be?? Or if I'll even finish it, honestly, but I'll try my best. There might be sin later. I haven't decided, but for now, please enjoy my trash ship.

 “They have lived!”

The crowd roars, surging forward, and Cicero finds himself jostled between the masses, people patting him on the back, trying to shake his hand, chanting his name _“Cicero! Cicero! Cicero!”_ Someone, a group of people, lift him up, holding him above the crowd in exaltation. “Cicero! Cicero!” the crowd still chants as they rush together once more, this time to Cicero's house. He lets himself be carried, doesn't fight it. “You have saved Rome! Savior of the Republic! Savior of all of us!” are the things he can hear above the yelling.

Cicero himself, however, blinks a few times, wiping away tears he didn't know he had been shedding, and he laughs. _Finally,_ he thinks, _we can rest. We can rest. The threat has been taken care of. Catilina has nothing left._

And yet, he also wonders, why does he feel so hollow?

He doesn't have much time to ponder it, however, as the crowd swiftly reaches his home, and he is finally set down. There is Terentia, waiting for him outside of the door, as well as little Marcus, and Cicero quickly scoops him up to press a kiss to his cheek, followed by a kiss to Terentia's forehead. It only furthers the applause.

Exhaustion seeps through every bit of him. There is not another time in his life where he has felt so tired. This whole conspiracy has left him drained, and so he raises a hand in an attempt to get the crowd to silence. It takes a few minutes, but they finally shush down to let the great man speak. “People of Rome,” he begins, handing Marcus back over to Terentia and rolling his shoulders back. “We have done a great deed here tonight. Those who sought to destroy Rome, to rip the Republic to shreds..have been killed. However! The threat is not wholly gone. Lucius Sergius Catilina still lives, but, I assure you, he has no choice but to come back to Rome and face punishment for his crimes, or to die fighting my fellow consul Gaius Antonius Hybrida!” The crowd begins to make noise again, applause and shouts of approval coming forth at his words.

“Worry not, good citizens of Rome. Your safety is first and foremost in my eyes.” As Cicero says this, his eyes make contact with those closest to him in the front of the crowd. “And I swear, I will not rest until Catilina is no more!” With that, he turns to go inside, leaving the roaring, chanting crowd behind him.

As he sinks onto the couch, he lets out a long, heavy sigh eyes sliding closed. It feels as if his very bones are aching, and he can feel his age. But... “The people adored you, Marcus,” comes Terentia's voice as she sits next to him. “You have done a good thing here...and I am proud of you.”

Cicero's eyes open in shock, and he cannot help the small smile that graces his features. “You're proud of me? Why, dear Terentia, I never thought I would hear those words come from your mouth!” he chimes affectionately, leaning over to kiss her cheek, his hand gently resting atop hers. “But..thank you. You have stuck by my side through all of this. Not many would.”

“If not myself, then who else would knock sense into you when you were on the verge of giving up, hmm?”

“..Good point.” Cicero laughs, gives Terentia's hand a gentle squeeze, and then he sighs. “There is still much to do, my dear, but right now? I think I shall rest.” He kisses her temple, and she nods, something akin to adoration in her eyes as he stands.

“If anyone deserves it, it is you, Marcus.”

“..Thank you.” A fond smile, and he finally makes his way to his room. The crowd still chants outside, but he barely hears it, letting himself get lost in his own thoughts as he dresses down to his nightclothes. Today was...it was something else. So much had happened in such a small amount of time. Men he thought were trustworthy were not that at all. Surra, Cethegus..supposedly fine men from noble families, and what of them now? Strangled to death, never to be heard from again, all because of this damn conspiracy.

And then his mind goes to Catilina.

Lucius Sergius Catilina. Not many would've attached his name to something like this. He used to be well-liked by many, roguishly handsome, a troublemaker, yes, but never...never this. Rumors of incest, of murder, of extortion all floated around him, but Cicero, among others, had never really thought to believe them. Not until now, at least. Not until Cicero took those rumors and used them to rip Catilina's name to shreads. Not until he took each and every one of those rumors and blew them up into something bigger. No, until then, Catilina had been one of the most popular men in Rome. Cicero had even called him a friend (and, perhaps, something more), so how, he wonders, did it all go so terribly wrong? How did it come down to this?

Sighing, he sinks down under the blankets of his bed as he ponders this. It certainly went wrong somewhere, but perhaps, he thinks, it is best to start from the beginning. It is best to start back when he thought he knew Catilina, back when they were... _something,_ back when he could believe that this man wasn't born to be terrible.

Back to when they all still had hope for the future.

 


End file.
